CHAPTER TWENTY 

“How’s my favorite teacher?” 

From Mino’s paper, Dara looks up and finds Seunghyun walking toward their direction. He’s wearing a wide smile on his lips, and she cannot help but to return the gesture as she waves at him. 

The kids start flocking him even before he can reach her spot. Chuckling, she approaches him. 

“I haven’t seen you in more than a week,” she said and stood before him. 

He smirks and raises a hand to pat her head. “Missed me?” 

She purses her lips. “Well, let me think,” she uttered and pretended to think which made Seunghyun to ruffle her hair. She grins at this. “Just kidding. I was not able to properly thank you for being my substitute when I asked for a week of emergency leave.” 

“Don’t mention. I was happy to help.” He raises his other hand, and shows her a paper bag. “I brought some kimbap and mango juice. Care to share them with me?” 

“How about us, TOP?” Jisoo asked and crossed her arms over her chest, squinting her eyes at the guy. The kid must be trying to be intimidating, but the gesture only made her more adorable. 

Dara giggles as Seunghyun fakes a gasp before chuckling, and messes the little girl’s hair. He, then, points behind him, toward the direction of more paper bags that rest at a bench.  

“Grab yours, little monsters,” he announced. The children start to squeal in delight and run for their afternoon snack. 

Both adults can only shake their heads as they share a look. Smiling, she points at an empty bench and they walk toward its direction. 

Sitting on either sides, Seunghyun opens a styro box of kimbap and pierces a straw on the lid of the drink before handing them to her. She giggles at the gesture. 

“Thank you, although I can do this for myself,” she said. 

“Nah. I did that for the bump monster,” he teased. She titters in response as he slightly angles his head to her stomach. “You’re always welcome, bump monster.” 

At the sight, she finally lets out a loud laugh and pushes him away by the shoulder. He sheepishly smiles at her. 

“Silly,” she mumbled before sipping on her drink. “So, what have you been up to for the past week?” 

Seunghyun shrugs. “I have a life, too, you know.” 

“I didn’t say you don’t, you know,” she answered in defence.  

He chuckles at her reaction. “I flew to Argentina. Just did some paperworks and stuff related to the grape field. I was actually thinking of bringing home some wine for you, but it will take seven more months before you can try them. Next year, maybe.” 

She clasps her hands together and beams at him. “I am excited to try them.” 

“Next year.” 

“Right. Next year,” she nodded and pushed a piece of kimbap inside . “Have you heard from Yeonjung?” 

Seunghyun turns toward her. “Heard of?” 

“She’ll be submitting a formal letter of leaving her post as the community art teacher. She plans on staying in Jeju for good,” she explained. 

“Really? I haven’t talked to her yet. I’ll give her a call, later.” He leans against the backrest of the bench. “What are you planning to do, now?” 

“Well,” she leaned back as well, “I already submitted my resignation letter at my previous job, so I am thinking of applying for the available position. I’ve only been doing this for almost two months now, but I can already say I am enjoying this more than the time I spent at Appleseed. We both know why,” she glanced at him and lifted the corner of her lips. 

He chuckles. “Art-focused, of course.” 

“Yes,” she answered and turned her body toward his direction. She gives him a pointed look and he raises a brow in question. “I heard from Chaerin that you went to Bom to ask for my whereabouts when I left for a week.” Seunghyun stares at her for a while before nodding. “How are you, two, now?” 

He shrugs and places a piece of kimbap inside his mouth. “The usual.” 

“The usual, meaning—?” 

“The usual, meaning we are still keeping our distance.” 

Dara purses her lips. “I don’t get it. You obviously still care for each other, but why are you keeping this so-called distance between the two of you?” He did not say a word. With this, she continues. “Bom is my best friend, yet I never heard anything about her relationship with you. Although there were years we were far from each other, I believed we were open about everything. Then, I suddenly found out about your past relationship, and I can’t help but wonder on when did I miss that certain part in the timeline of our friendship.” 

He chuckles but chooses not to respond. 

“You can evade these questions, but I will appreciate it if you can answer them. Were you in love? Who chose to let go? How long were you together? When did it happen?” She consecutively asked. 

He shakes his head and grins as he turns to face her. “I feel like you’ll never stop asking if I’ll choose to evade those questions, this time.” She repeatedly nods and he chuckles once again. 

“You can evade them, but only this time.” 

He stops and sighs. He leans back once again and raises his head to look up at the sky. “Bom and I, we met in Paris, five years ago. She was building her career in fashion design and worked as an apprentice to a famous fashion designer, while I was busy exploring arts and crafts. It happened at a common friend’s birthday party. We were introduced, talked, kissed, and one thing lead to another. We hooked up, but eventually built a deeper relationship. It started as a simple one-night stand, until one day, we’re in love.” 

“You two were in love, but the way you act now is as if you’ve never shared a history,” she commented. 

“Maybe because one part of that history broke us more than we wanted to. Oh, let me correct myself,” he bitterly smiled. “Broke her more. At some point, I became the who entertained a new girl in town, thinking I found a new thrill in life. Back then, while I was giving the girl a friendly tour, I had no idea Bom was suffering. Actually, no. I neglected her feelings, and ignored signs.” 

Dara nods to urge him to continue. 

“I had no idea she was already three months pregnant then, not until I received a phone call from an unknown number, telling me that she was at the hospital for an emergency operation.”  

She gasps and covers at the new information. She didn’t know that this thing happened in her best friend’s life. She has no idea at all. 

Seunghyun punches his leg and clenches his knuckles. “All the morning vomiting, sudden clinging on my arm while walking, pale complexion, and mood swings were actually telling me that something was wrong. Yet, I chose to ignore them because she smiled at me like those were nothing, and I was confident that nothing was indeed wrong with her and between us. She knew about me, giving so much attention to another girl, yet she never spoke a word about it. She had cried herself to sleep, and I had no idea because I would wrap my arm around her at dawn when I just came back from socializing with friends or with the new girl. I only found out about it from a friend, after Bom told me that she’s breaking up with me— That she never wanted to see me again, and she was setting me